The Downsides of Frequent Travel | Generated by AI
Question: What are some unpopular opinions about traveling to many countries or around the world?
Answer:
Traveling extensively (especially the “visit 100+ countries” lifestyle that’s glorified on social media) has a lot of downsides that most travel influencers and bucket-listers won’t admit. Here are the most common unpopular opinions backed by frequent long-term travelers:
- Most countries feel surprisingly similar after the first 30–40. Once you’ve seen a few old towns, temples, beaches, and markets, the law of diminishing returns hits hard. The differences become nuances rather than mind-blowing revelations.
- “Country counting” is a shallow and meaningless goal. Checking off flags is basically adult stamp collecting. Depth in a few places almost always beats breadth across dozens.
- Mass tourism has ruined the vast swaths of the planet. Places like Bali, Santorini, Dubrovnik, Machu Picchu, and Venice aren’t “authentic” anymore—they’re open-air theme parks with Instagram backdrops and overpriced everything.
- Long-term travel often makes you a worse, more judgmental person. Constantly comparing countries (“the food/coffee/people are better in X”) turns you into a snob instead of the open-minded global citizen you thought you’d become.
- You don’t actually become “cultured” just by flying somewhere. Spending three days in a capital city while staying in hostels with other backpackers and eating at tourist restaurants teaches you almost nothing about real local life.
- Slow travel is usually superior, but no one wants to admit it because it’s not sexy on Instagram. Spending 3–6 months in one country > rushing through 15 countries in three months, yet the latter gets all the likes.
- Digital nomad / perpetual traveler life is extremely lonely and unstable for most people after the initial honeymoon phase. The constant goodbyes, shallow friendships, and lack of community take a heavy mental toll.
- Airport layovers and long-haul flights are miserable and not worth romanticizing. Most seasoned travelers secretly hate flying and would teleport if they could.
- Travel is one of the most environmentally destructive hobbies you can have. All that flying for leisure while preaching about climate change is peak hypocrisy (yet rarely called out in travel circles).
- A lot of “must-see” wonders are underwhelming in person. The Pyramids, Mona Lisa, Leaning Tower of Pisa, etc.—many people quietly admit they’re smaller, more crowded, and less impressive than photos suggest.
In short: traveling a little can be life-changing, but traveling obsessively often becomes an expensive addiction that delivers less happiness per dollar and per passport stamp than people expect.
References:
- The dark side of travel no one talks about
- Why I stopped chasing countries
- Travel is no longer special (and related discussions)